Not Alone Anymore
by Fluff-is-awesome
Summary: If you feel dissatisfied with the way the Caleo reunion turned out, Please read! This is the reunion I imagined before reading BoO, but it works fine with what actually happened. Calypso's POV one-shot.


**So everyone was disappointed with BoO, clearly. I'm all for sticking to canon, but when it comes to the last chapter of the book, he could have made that Caleo moment so much better. So I am going to show you guys this one-shot I wrote _before_ reading BoO, because it's much more satisfying in my opinion. It can fit in easily as a replacement of the reunion in the book. I don't own PJO!**

Gone.

He was _gone_.

Calypso hadn't moved since the raft had disappeared. She couldn't. Watching him leave— watching _Leo_ leave— her heart didn't just break into a thousand pieces; it was scarred. She wasn't just sad and wistful; she felt completely and utterly vulnerable. And the first time in her entire existence, Calypso was afraid. She was afraid to be _alone_.

Leo was different than any other hero that had landed on her island, in every way possible. He wasn't built, he wasn't particularly charming or charismatic— but he was more than that. He cared. Calypso couldn't help but believe that he really truly meant it when he promised her he'd return. Because when he looked at her, he _saw_ her. He didn't pity her or give her sympathetic smiles; he could just look at her and _know_. He looked at her and saw _everything_.

Calypso tried to remember what she felt like when the other heroes had left. It certainly hurt. She hated feeling ditched and she was terribly upset that they had to leave. But she was always able to accept the fact that they just weren't hers to keep. There was always someone else, someone who had already stolen their heart. No matter how much of her own heart she gave them, they could never return her care and love. But for _Leo_ to leave? It was _wrong_. He wasn't _supposed_ to leave her.

Leo had shown her something new, something different, something that she hadn't even known could exist. The love she felt for him was not just an attraction; it was an emotional bond— something that could never, _ever_ go away no matter how hard she tried to ignore it. It was a deep, mutual understanding that opened her up and made her become completely vulnerable to another person. And it was absolutely terrifying.

Calypso hadn't cried. The tears just wouldn't come. It was like she had turned into a spirit of the underworld— she couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, couldn't function. All she could do was sit motionless on the beach and stare at the waves where the raft had disappeared, taking her soul with it.

There were times in her existence that Calypso was grateful for the solitude of her island; she would sing and dance as she worked like she didn't have a care in the world. Now, though, the solitude frightened her like nothing else. The island felt more like a prison than ever before. All she could think was that she really, _really_ didn't want to be alone anymore.

But that wasn't the only thing that terrified her. What she dreaded more than anything was that the gods would send her another hero. A hero who wasn't Leo.

Because _gods_, she didn't want a hero! She wanted _Leo_! It was _Leo_ who could take away her fears, who could make her feel loved, who could make her feel _real_. She wanted it to be _his_ knowing, understanding eyes looking into her soul and bringing out who she really was, no one else's.

When Leo promised her he would return— when he gave not an empty promise but a full promise— he gave her something the other heroes hadn't given her: hope. Because he didn't have an Annabeth to return to. He didn't want to leave; he left because _she made_ him leave. And she could see in his eyes that he would have stayed. He _wanted_ to stay. He wanted _her_. And she didn't realize how much she wanted him until it was too late.

Leo couldn't come back. Calypso knew that a demigod didn't stand a chance of breaking an eternal curse, no matter how much he wanted to. She liked to think he was willing to die trying though.

Death. For the first time in her existence, Calypso wished she could die. She had often wondered what it would be like to be mortal, but she had never _yearned_ for it. Death was so foreign to her, but the thought of being able to end her misery, to finally be at peace for eternity— it sounded blissful.

Calypso lost track of time as she sat. Nightfall came and went, and she passed the days simply keeping her mind blank, waiting for something that would never come. Was this as close as she could come to death? Perhaps. Perhaps this was an immortal death; emotionless, functionless, and still.

—

—

—

The sun beat down on the island of Ogygia, the birds chirping and the waves crashing on the beach. It seemed so lovely; so hopeful and happy.

Calypso was numb to that happiness though. All she felt was emptiness and more emptiness.

"Well I hope we aren't moping over the wondrous Leo Valdez, now are we?" A voice suddenly spoke behind Calypso. The sound made her jump out of her trance and she slowly turned around.

Standing on the beaches of Ogygia was none other than Leo himself with his signature smirk on his face. Calypso's heart pounded in her chest. She carefully rose to her feet and pulled out her knife.

"What are you?" Calypso said hoarsely, her voice shaking. She tried to sound threatening. "A hallucination? A mirage? An imposter?"

"What?" His eyebrows scrunched in confusion. Just his voice made her ache. "No! I—"

"Zeus," Calypso whispered backing away in fear. Pain throbbed in her chest. She couldn't start hoping now. Not now.

Why did the gods have to torture her like _this_? Did they have no mercy? Calypso suddenly felt her throat clog and she held her breath, trying not to cry. Bracing herself, she held out the knife towards Leo— _it's an image_, she tried to convince herself. She turned away and closed her eyes. "Whoever is doing this," she called out, trying to sound brave, "make it go away! Don't torture me like this," she swallowed. "_Please_!" she was begging now. Her breathing sped up. "I can't _do_ this anymore!"

"Calypso—"

"Oh, _gods_!" She sobbed, falling to her knees. _It isn't real, it isn't real, he can't come back, it isn't real—_"

"Calypso!" Leo grabbed the knife out of her hand and suddenly his hands were on her shoulders. "Gods of Olympus, Calypso! Stop it! You're scaring me!"

Calypso held her breath and slowly looked up at him, eyes wide. She concentrated on the feeling of his touch and dared let herself hope. Could it be...?

She reached out towards him and hesitated. "Don't move," she said softly. He gave her a questioning look but complied. She took a deep breath. Cautiously, she brushed her fingers tentatively over his cheek. "You... You're really here," she realized, letting out a sigh of relief. Her eyes were not playing tricks on her. Leo was actually on her island. Again.

His worried features relaxed. "Yes, I'm really here," he assured her. He gave her an intense look. "I don't break my promises, Calypso."

Calypso shook her head slightly and blinked, checking to see that she wasn't dreaming. "No, you don't," she agreed faintly. The sand under her feet was real. The wind on her face was real. The warmth in his eyes and the strength of his touch was absolutely real.

Ever so slowly, a small spark of joy began to grow inside of her. As reality set in, that spark became bigger and bigger until it ignited a flame in her heart, and a smile grew across her lips. "You came back," she choked out, her throat now clogged not with tears of pain but tears of happiness.

"Yeah," he smirked. He scratched the back of his neck. "I hope you don't still hate me, ya know," he said with a shrug, "'cause I'm afraid you may be stuck with me."

Calypso let out a giddy laugh and launched herself at him, throwing her arms around his neck. Unable to resist, she ran her fingers through his dark shaggy hair and kissed him.

She had kissed an aweful lot of pretty hot guys, but this was by far the best kiss she had ever had. It wasn't a kiss of goodbye. It was a kiss of reunion and rejoice. It was one of what was to come, not of what could have been.

Calypso tightened her grip around his neck and put her lips next to his ear. "I don't hate you, Leo."

That caused him to laugh out loud. The sound filled her with warmth and she smiled so wide her cheeks hurt. She hugged him tightly and dug her face into his neck. "Glad to hear it, Sunshine," he said. "I don't hate you either."

Calypso didn't know how he could have possibly done it. No other man had ever gotten back to Ogygia before. But he _did_, and in that moment, his promise—his _full_ promise— was the only one that mattered.

Because Leo Valdez was nothing like the other heroes who had landed on her island. He wasn't just a hero. He was _her_ hero.

**Cheese! I hope this helps the dissatisfied Caleo lovers out there! I realized after writing it that I kinda ripped off of myself... I'm very consistent in my fanfiction writing. Please review!**


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